Charades
by Nageki Fujishiro
Summary: Odd little AU that I've explained a bit better in the Author's note at the beginning. A curious development of friendship between Ryouta and Nageki and the troubles they hide. Nageki's nearly mute, and speaks ASL, which Ryouta was kind enough to learn for his friend. The reason why is up to you. Livershipping if you want or not, it's flexible.
1. Stood Up

**Author's Note:  
**

 **What kind of plot am I possibly going on? Eh- really complicated AU where everything happens 5 years later than it should've (Nageki's born in '72 instead of '67, but the year is still 2188 and all the normal birds are there, etc, etc) I'll... just let the story play out from here.**

 ** _If_ I finish it.**

It was getting chilly and dark, and Ryouta's mum would be worried. Where was Nageki?

Ryouta closed his sweatshirt around him better and fixed his sideways tie. He looked around, watching in concern as the sky turned a deeper blue with what seemed like every minute. He refused to believe Nageki had stood him up, or had forgotten, because Nageki wasn't like that.

Ryouta shivered and watched the distant school doors, hoping to see the mourning dove walk out and wave at any moment. But… Ryouta checked the time on his phone and frowned. It was 55 minutes past the time they were to have met.

Ryouta sighed, and considered just going home. He didn't want to believe Nageki had forgotten or stood him up, but there were few other options to believe otherwise. Just for extra measure, and to pity himself a bit, Ryouta stood an extra few minutes. Because of this, he was there when Nageki finally did exit the school.

Relieved his friend hadn't abandoned him, and disregarding the mysterious bird he was huddled against, Ryouta called out to Nageki. The bird he didn't know, who appeared to be a quail, turned and glared at the rock dove, despite never meeting each other. Nageki, hearing his friend, burrowed his way through the quail's arm and signed a "sorry" before turning back and huddling closer yet.

A little confused on what had happened and who this new bird was, Ryouta, a little sad, gave up and went home. At his humble abode, he lay on his bed and looked at the ceiling, wondering what had gone wrong. He knew the bird Nageki had been with could not be bad, as it was Nageki who was nuzzled close, and his panic didn't seem directed towards the mysterious bird.

And it suddenly hit Kawara.

 _Nageki had been scared._

He replayed the evening in his head, and remembered what Nageki's facial expression had been. Most of the time, Nageki was usually content, if not a little sad looking, or he was laughing. He had never seen anything other than those two emotions, not until now.

Ryouta tried to think of what could be the issue. Perhaps that quail was angry with him, and he was afraid to be in trouble? But, then why would he be so huddled close? Ryouta huffed and blinked slowly. He turned his head to look at the clock on his left. It read 8:34.

Too early to go to sleep, Ryouta thought, but how he wanted to. He tried to tell himself Nageki in no way planned this, and had even apologized accordingly, but it still felt as though he had somehow been kicked to the curb. Perhaps it was the glare that bird had given him. It was no ordinary glare. It was full of anger and hurt, and a vague fear similar to Nageki's, but maybe even worse. Maybe that quail hadn't even meant to glare at him.

The rest of the week, Nageki didn't come to school. The maths teacher announced he was quitting, but wouldn't explain why. He simply apologized for the inconvenience, and continued on to say he wouldn't even be finishing the year. What was beneficial, however, was that he would be replaced almost immediately.

Ryouta wasn't paying attention, however. His eyes were resting on Nageki's empty chair, and he was flicking a pencil between his thumb and index finger. He wasn't thinking about anything, really, but sort of absent-mindedly trying to understand Nageki probably wasn't coming back. He felt like crying.

It was Friday, and what Ryouta was referring to as the "incident" had occurred on Tuesday. It had left him worried every day Nageki had missed. Ryouta had tried calling the dove multiple times, but had always gotten voicemail. Oh yeah, Nageki was _never_ coming back, and Ryouta would never see him again.

On the weekend, things went as usual. Ryouta tried to figure out how to move on. After all, they had only known each other 6 months. That was nothing compared to real, developed friendships, right? He was being the big baby he really was.

But come Monday, Nageki miraculously returned. Ryouta tried not to let his over joy show, but it was hard to contain. Ryouta had convinced himself Nageki hated or couldn't see him again. He was tearing at the seams with questions about what had happened, but he didn't want to strike a nerve and have his assumption become reality.

"Good morning, Nageki," Ryouta tried saying casually, as though Nageki had been at school as usual.

Nageki smiled faintly and signed good morning. Ryouta took note. Due to Nageki's silence, he showed a lot of expression when talking, so this was unusual to be so subtle. For a nearly mute kid, Nageki would talk a lot via his hands and expressions.

Typically, he had something to say. Be it "I managed to download this old horror game on one of the library computers and my favourite is the bear" or simply "I saw a rat and gave them some crumbs because I wasn't really hungry anyway", he was never not talkative. This was odd indeed.

"Are you ok?" Ryouta said, still containing excitement, and now what was crawling in as worry.

Nageki nodded and tried smiling again. He had different bandages. They weren't on his head, neck, or stomach (though he hadn't checked, that would be uncalled for and rude), like they usually were. This time, they were on his fingers.

Ryouta almost wanted to ask what they were, but he was afraid. He had never felt afraid around Nageki before. Nageki was a nice kid, and he wasn't very intimidating unless you dropped book. Then it was pure fire and fury, and Ryouta learned his lesson on that one. But now, it wasn't because he feared for an angry Mourning Dove. It was… something else, Ryouta couldn't quite pin.

"Are you sure…?"

Nageki nodded and made an "O" with his hand, meaning "nothing", though his face was still in an odd, hard-to-read expression.

Ryouta frowned. This was suspicious indeed. Unable to help himself, he pointed to Nageki's bandaged fingers (on both hands, he noted) and asked "what are these from?"

Nageki's face dropped. He looked at the floor and almost looked guilty. He looked as though he may have signed "nothing" again, but his hand carelessly dropped to his lap just as quick as it had risen.

 _Shit, shit, shit! Wrong thing to say!_ Ryouta panicked. "I-I'm sorry, that was-"

"No, it's ok." Nageki said aloud.

Ryouta sat back in his seat.

Nageki tried his hardest to smile, but it looked more like a wince. He sat for a bit, motionless (because silence would not have been a change), as though pondering his answer.

Then he rose his hands again and signed "sorry, I can't say."

"I-it's alright… Are you ok, though?"

That was no better of a statement- now Nageki looked as though he would burst into tears. In fact- he did.

"Ohmygosh, I'm sorry! Wh- please don't cry… don't cry… shhh..!" Ryouta said frantically, glancing about the room and hoping no birdie was worrying other than himself. He put his hands on Nageki's shaking shoulders. He patted them, he tried to look in to Nageki's eyes, anything that would calm him down.


	2. Home

"S-sorry, sorry… so-sorry…" Nageki sputtered, suddenly ceasing his sobbing and frantically wiping the tears, still streaming down his face. He looked at the ceiling and exhales deeply. It was sort of miraculous how quickly he calmed down, Ryouta thought.

"Don't be, I didn't mean to-"

Nageki signed "no", then formed "A" and pulled it outwards from his jaw, pointed at Ryouta, then took both hands bent and taps his shoulder, meaning "not your fault". He wiped the last bit of residue from his tears when the bell rang.

Nageki had a free period the following class, and Ryouta had History, so they went their separate ways. Ryouta knew Nageki usually went to the library on his free period, despite being the last period of the day, but he still worried and hoped everything would be ok.

Nageki, on the other hand, was exhausted from the day already. Crying causes fatigue as it is, and the evening prior was quite the doozy. He ran his fingers through his hair, not caring it would mess up his fringe, and walked slowly down the hall, weaving through the upstream current of students. He was to go straight home today.

 _Home_. A place he hadn't seen for a full year.

It… was hard to believe. Last night wasn't the best welcoming home ever, so he really didn't register the bird he had missed so desperately, nor did they converse much.

It was funny, because every day of the year Nageki thought about the quail at home. He thought about what they did, what they'd be doing, and how he feared it would never happen again. The evening prior, it almost didn't. He was prepared for that. And now… it _was_. It shouldn't have happened, but it _did_. And so going home really was a thing. He really would live on.

He… would live _on_.

Nageki knew Hitori's black SUV was already at the school, waiting. He wondered if it was strange for him as well, their first proper reunion, nothing but getting in the car brimmed with awkward silence. Or worse, questions.

The door at the end of the hall was suddenly much closer. Out the window, he could see the SUV. It was all so real. He really would walk out there, really would get in that car and see that face again. Even this morning was subtle and eerily… "normal". The only thing out of place was the fact Hitori was looking at another apartment building.

Nageki's hand was now greased with sweat, and he nervously lathered the one he had raised to open the door. He had the faintest urge to turn around and run to the library, like he always did. It was safe there. He always enjoyed that hour before heading back to the medical center's basement. Sometimes he didn't read, sometimes he merely looked at books for humour. It was peaceful, and it was the only break he got besides crying himself into a painful and cold dreamless sleep.

That… was off topic.

It would be rude, however. It wasn't as though Nageki didn't want to see his brother, he did, but he knew it was a forked road. One path was awkward silence, or crying. Nageki predicted the crying would be him. The other path was questions. Why and what and who and how. Even thinking about that path made Nageki's stomach churn.

He shook himself back to reality and looked out the door's window once more. His hand rested on the handle. Hitori was probably staring at him by now, with his luck. _Why isn't he coming out?_ He was probably thinking.

 _Because I've hurt you,_ was Nageki's sheepish inner reply.

The door handle turned with a click, and he was pushing the door open, feeling the warm Tokyo breeze flutter his suit jacket. He pretends to take a good look around. Oh yes, Hitori certainly sees him now. The bird's head turned in his car, he definitely sees him. There's no turning back and running to the library.

Ryouta ignored the majority of history. Sometimes it was just boring to him, but today he was on a nervous tic. He had made Nageki cry the first day the poor bird returned from school. What did he even say? "Are you ok?" The fact such an innocent and caring phrase made Nageki upset… it was concerning.

But Ryouta's anxieties began getting the better of him. Did he say it in a nasty tone? Had Nageki ever mentioned not to say something like that? He knew about the bandages Nageki constantly got, but had never asked unless they were brought up… Ryouta assumed Nageki had his own problems that needed to be personal. Heck, Ryouta had yet to share his mother was in the hospital and was probably not ever coming out, so there was _that_ …

Nageki seemed to like history; he always talked about certain figureheads and things. He made _jokes_ about _history_. Ryouta loved listening to him, despite not getting anything. It was almost as bad as maths. Thank the gods in the sky Nageki and Ryouta hated math equally. They didn't have much in common for how close the two were, so it was beneficial they could at least complain about a subject together.

Ryouta remembered Nageki had a specific hatred for Martin Luther, Gandhi, and Galileo. Despite Nageki explaining their "flaws", Ryouta only saw Nageki treating history like some popular anime, and everybirdie was a character. You either made the favourites list, or you didn't. He knew this, because Nageki _did_ like Malala and Martin Luther _King_ Jr. Speaking of anime, Ryouta's thoughts drifted into Coore Grey's latest episode. He felt the worries about Nageki melting away, and his eyes closed, floating away into a fantasy of pigeons in fluffy dresses saving the day.

The car door was next. Hitori wasn't smiling, Nageki wasn't smiling. Though, neither bird was angry. It was the complete opposite, actually. Hitori was trying to calm himself, to not lunge over the seat and hug the bird about to enter the car. Part of him was about to cry. That wasn't cool. _You'll embarrass Nageki and yourself_. _Don't do it_. Nageki was trying not to grin like an idiot. _If_ _Hitori isn't smiling, you shouldn't smile. Don't do it._

Nageki opened the car door and climbed in. It was only then he noticed he was shaking. Very badly, as a matter of fact. Noticeably. It wasn't helping he started to stare at his hand because of this, and now Hitori was looking at his hand as well.

 _It shouldn't be so awkward; you've known and loved this bird all your life._ Nageki tried to tell himself. He pulled his hand rapidly away as he settled into the seat. The car smelled just the same- a very immature quail that wore too much cologne but wouldn't admit it. Nageki breathed a sigh of relief for that, and let a smile play across his lips.

Hitori, who had to shake his head rapidly to stop himself from steadily staring at the dove next to him, adjusted his fingers on the steering wheel and cleared his throat before starting the car. He didn't move, however.

Nageki took a breath and looked at his brother. He must have had a funny face on, and realized it, because both birds burst out laughing without a word. It must have been a good few minutes before they calmed down, and Hitori actually rolled out of the parking lot.

The rest of the drive was relatively silent, but Nageki had the smallest smile the entire ride home.

 _Home_. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.


	3. That Sweater

It was getting chilly and dark, and Ryouta's mum would be worried. Where was Nageki?

Ryouta closed his sweatshirt around him better and fixed his sideways tie. He looked around, watching in concern as the sky turned a deeper blue with what seemed like every minute. He refused to believe Nageki had stood him up, or had forgotten, because Nageki wasn't like that.

Ryouta shivered and watched the distant school doors, hoping to see the mourning dove walk out and wave at any moment. But… Ryouta checked the time on his phone and frowned. It was 55 minutes past the time they were to have met.

Ryouta sighed, and considered just going home. He didn't want to believe Nageki had forgotten or stood him up, but there were few other options to believe otherwise. Just for extra measure, and to pity himself a bit, Ryouta stood an extra few minutes. Because of this, he was there when Nageki finally did exit the school.

Relieved his friend hadn't abandoned him, and disregarding the mysterious bird he was huddled against, Ryouta called out to Nageki. The bird he didn't know, who appeared to be a quail, turned and glared at the rock dove, despite never meeting each other. Nageki, hearing his friend, burrowed his way through the quail's arm and signed a "sorry" before turning back and huddling closer yet.

A little confused on what had happened and who this new bird was, Ryouta, a little sad, gave up and went home. At his humble abode, he lay on his bed and looked at the ceiling, wondering what had gone wrong. He knew the bird Nageki had been with could not be bad, as it was Nageki who was nuzzled close, and his panic didn't seem directed towards the mysterious bird.

And it suddenly hit Kawara.

 _Nageki had been scared._

He replayed the evening in his head, and remembered what Nageki's facial expression had been. Most of the time, Nageki was usually content, if not a little sad looking, or he was laughing. He had never seen anything other than those two emotions, not until now.

Ryouta tried to think of what could be the issue. Perhaps that quail was angry with him, and he was afraid to be in trouble? But, then why would he be so huddled close? Ryouta huffed and blinked slowly. He turned his head to look at the clock on his left. It read 8:34.

Too early to go to sleep, Ryouta thought, but how he wanted to. He tried to tell himself Nageki in no way planned this, and had even apologized accordingly, but it still felt as though he had somehow been kicked to the curb. Perhaps it was the glare that bird had given him. It was no ordinary glare. It was full of anger and hurt, and a vague fear similar to Nageki's, but maybe even worse. Maybe that quail hadn't even meant to glare at him.

The rest of the week, Nageki didn't come to school. The maths teacher announced he was quitting, but wouldn't explain why. He simply apologized for the inconvenience, and continued on to say he wouldn't even be finishing the year. What was beneficial, however, was that he would be replaced almost immediately.

Ryouta wasn't paying attention, however. His eyes were resting on Nageki's empty chair, and he was flicking a pencil between his thumb and index finger. He wasn't thinking about anything, really, but sort of absent-mindedly trying to understand Nageki probably wasn't coming back. He felt like crying.

It was Friday, and what Ryouta was referring to as the "incident" had occurred on Tuesday. It had left him worried every day Nageki had missed. Ryouta had tried calling the dove multiple times, but had always gotten voicemail. Oh yeah, Nageki was _never_ coming back, and Ryouta would never see him again.

On the weekend, things went as usual. Ryouta tried to figure out how to move on. After all, they had only known each other 6 months. That was nothing compared to real, developed friendships, right? He was being the big baby he really was.

But come Monday, Nageki miraculously returned. Ryouta tried not to let his over joy show, but it was hard to contain. Ryouta had convinced himself Nageki hated or couldn't see him again. He was tearing at the seams with questions about what had happened, but he didn't want to strike a nerve and have his assumption become reality.

"Good morning, Nageki," Ryouta tried saying casually, as though Nageki had been at school as usual.

Nageki smiled faintly and signed good morning. Ryouta took note. Due to Nageki's silence, he showed a lot of expression when talking, so this was unusual to be so subtle. For a nearly mute kid, Nageki would talk a lot via his hands and expressions.

Typically, he had something to say. Be it "I managed to download this old horror game on one of the library computers and my favourite is the bear" or simply "I saw a rat and gave them some crumbs because I wasn't really hungry anyway", he was never not talkative. This was odd indeed.

"Are you ok?" Ryouta said, still containing excitement, and now what was crawling in as worry.

Nageki nodded and tried smiling again. He had different bandages. They weren't on his head, neck, or stomach (though he hadn't checked, that would be uncalled for and rude), like they usually were. This time, they were on his fingers.

Ryouta almost wanted to ask what they were, but he was afraid. He had never felt afraid around Nageki before. Nageki was a nice kid, and he wasn't very intimidating unless you dropped book. Then it was pure fire and fury, and Ryouta learned his lesson on that one. But now, it wasn't because he feared for an angry Mourning Dove. It was… something else, Ryouta couldn't quite pin.

"Are you sure…?"

Nageki nodded and made an "O" with his hand, meaning "nothing", though his face was still in an odd, hard-to-read expression.

Ryouta frowned. This was suspicious indeed. Unable to help himself, he pointed to Nageki's bandaged fingers (on both hands, he noted) and asked "what are these from?"

Nageki's face dropped. He looked at the floor and almost looked guilty. He looked as though he may have signed "nothing" again, but his hand carelessly dropped to his lap just as quick as it had risen.

 _Shit, shit, shit! Wrong thing to say!_ Ryouta panicked. "I-I'm sorry, that was-"

"No, it's ok." Nageki said aloud.

Ryouta sat back in his seat.

Nageki tried his hardest to smile, but it looked more like a wince. He sat for a bit, motionless (because silence would not have been a change), as though pondering his answer.

Then he rose his hands again and signed "sorry, I can't say."

"I-it's alright… Are you ok, though?"

That was no better of a statement- now Nageki looked as though he would burst into tears. In fact- he did.

"Ohmygosh, I'm sorry! Wh- please don't cry… don't cry… shhh..!" Ryouta said frantically, glancing about the room and hoping no birdie was worrying other than himself. He put his hands on Nageki's shaking shoulders. He patted them, he tried to look in to Nageki's eyes, anything that would calm him down.


End file.
